1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to floor mats in general, but most specifically those used in cars, trucks, and other human operated equipment where vehicle appearance and protection, personal appearance and protection, and air quality within the vehicle are all of concern.
2. Description of Related Art
Upon entering a vehicle, depending on location and weather conditions, it is normal to track into the vehicle, the following undesired elements (undesirables); water, snow, ice, earth, grass, pollen, gravel, sand, animal excrement, and anything else one has had the misfortune to step on or into. To protect the vehicle's original floor mat covering from these undesirables, a variety of accessory floor mats are currently on the market. These floor mats are typically made of a carpet material, similar to the material used in the vehicle's original floor mating, or a waterproof elastomeric material, more suited for inclement weather conditions. Such waterproof elastomeric mats are commonly known as All Weather mats, and typically have numerous indentations and wells for collecting dirt and water. While these standard floor mat mats are effective at protecting the original floor mat covering of the vehicle, there are adverse effects, caused by the introduction of the undesired elements, for which the standard floor mats do not protect against.
One such adverse effect, common among carpeted floor mats, is the diminished appearance of the floor mat once these undesirables are introduced. The simple presence of the undesirables is unsightly, requiring the floor mat to be vacuumed on a regular basis. Even when vacuumed, the undesirables often leave stains, requiring the floor mat to be washed. Even when washed, the abrasive nature of some of the undesirables causes wear on the floor mat and eventually the floor mat must be replaced. In most cases the first area to wear out is the heel pad area, generally as a result of the accumulated debris being ground into the mat by the back of the driver's shoe as he operates the accelerator and brake pedals.
Another adverse effect is salt damage and this commonly occurs during protracted inclement weather such as snow. Salt, used to keep roads from freezing, along with excess snow and ice, are tracked onto the floor mat and quickly result in a salt water solution. This solution not only has the potential to spill onto the car floor mat, later causing rust, it is also often absorbed by the heel of the occupant's shoe and lower pant leg, causing salt stains and damage upon drying.
There are a number of prior art patents which have proposed solutions to this problem and which show various means for collecting and/or draining off the water and snow melt, none of which proposed solutions are considered completely satisfactory. Examples of the patented devices are shown in: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,650,855 to Peirce; 3,149,875 to Stata; 3,284,836 to Ioppolo; 4,211,447 to DiVincenzo; 4,280,729 to Morawski and 4,420,180 to Dupont.
Yet another adverse effect not covered by the prior art, is the pollution of cabin air caused by the introduction of the undesirables. Once tracked into the vehicle, the undesirables are then deposited on the floor mat and further ground down by the action of one's feet on the mat. This grinding down phenomenon creates a fine dust and particle mixture of the undesired material. The heater, air conditioner, or ventilation fan blows down upon the surface of the mat, which introduces the undesired and potentially unhealthy, dust and debris mixture into the vehicle's cabin air. Compounding this problem is the fact that each year, as cars get smaller and lower, the interior space of the cabin gets smaller. This has two consequences that cause the degree of air pollution to increase exponentially. The first consequence is that the volume of cabin air decreases, yet the amount of introduced undesirables remain the same. The second consequence of the smaller and lower cars, is that the distance from the fan to floor mat, along with the distance from the floor mat to the occupants, are both significantly reduced.